Skye turned her head and looked over her right
shoulder into the furthest corner of the room. Out of the shadows and into the
slanting rays of moonlight stepped Ethan Rayne.

Skye blinked in surprise and stared open-mouthed at
him.

He smiled slowly back at her. "Hullo, luv…"

"Skye," the Voice of Hell began. "I'd like you to meet
Ethan Rayne. You asked for someone more powerful than Willow Rosenberg…I'm
certain he'll be able to help with your problem."

"Pleasure to meet you," Ethan replied. "Now as I
understand it, you've got a curse that prevents you from feeding on humans?"

"Uh, yeah," Skye said at first, unable to answer. "Do
you think you can lift it?"

"Most certainly," he replied. "But first there's the
matter of compensation," he said, looking toward VOH.

"When the spell is lifted, then you'll be paid," VOH
replied to him.

"Fine," he agreed but then added, "Show me the funds."

"Do you doubt me?" VOH asked.

"I doubt everyone, dear. So unless I see the money,
there'll be no spells lifted today…least not by me anyway."

The sound of a door opening made the group turn to see
Steve, the vampire, walking in.

"Sorry I'm late, guys," he told everyone. "Traffic was
hell and –"

"Enough," VOH said, cutting him off. "I have no time
for excuses. This sailor must be turned, now," she said, motioning to the
serviceman. Two demons grabbed him from either side and brought him before
Steve, who immediately changed into his vamp form.

Skye and Ethan exchanged a quick, concerned glance to
each other and watched as Steve sank his teeth into the scared sailor. The
vampire then held out his wrist, and another demon made a slash with a blade.
Blood began to drip out. The young man weakly fought as Steve brought over his
wrist, pushing it into the sailor's mouth.

A sad, sympathetic look flashed across Skye's features
as she helplessly watched. She looked back at Ethan, who rolled his shoulders
nervously.

After a few moments the demons dropped the sailor to
the ground, lifeless.

"How long will it take?" VOH asked Steve.

"Not long," he replied. "Probably a few hours at the
most. I've sired many over the centuries," he added.

"Too bad you never learned how to read a watch in all
those years," VOH countered.

Before Steve could form a reply, VOH took out a stake
and shoved it deep into his heart. The vampire looked down, concerned, and then
back up as he combusted on the spot.

"Punctuality is important," VOH told the onlookers
casually. "If following orders is too much to ask, don't bother being here.
Understood?"

Nods went around the room. "Now, Mr. Rayne," she told
him. "Please set up your supplies while I get the funds from my office."

"Absolutely," Ethan replied. "This way, my dear," he
told Skye as he led her toward the corner.

The overweight demon followed behind them. "This I
need to see," he replied.

They came to a pentagram, and Ethan motioned Skye to
sit in the middle as he began lighting candles at each point. He turned as VOH
walked over carrying a suitcase. She stopped a few feet short of him and opened
it up for him to see inside.

He walked over, inspecting the package. "Lovely," he
told her. "May I keep the case, too?" he added.

VOH grinned. "Certainly. Now if you would…" She then
motioned to Skye.

"I'm saying I don't know enough about the Council as a
whole to make an informed decision. That's why myself, and a few others, would
like to hold this congressional meeting to get to the heart of the matter before
rushing to judgment."

"To a point, yes. Personally, I don't fault the
Council for recent events like the blood bank heists, which she seems to be
trying to use as a litmus test for disbanding the Council. From what I've read,
they stopped attacks in several cities, but they couldn't stop them everywhere
because these people can't be everywhere at once."

"Right. Do we get rid of the police department because
they find a missing child but fail to stop a drug deal on the corner? Do we
forgo having a fire department because they're unable to save a house from
burning completely to the ground?" he posed.

"Exactly," Rep. Frasier answered with a slight grin.
"Like the military, too. Since they haven't found Bin Laden, does that mean we
do away with our Armed Forces altogether? No, of course not."

"So in other words, let's not cut our nose off to
spite our face," Olbermann surmised.

"Right, but that's what it seems O'Mara wants to do,
and there are a few of us who want to see what threat, if any, the Watchers
Council truly poses to the public. Either way, though, I'm sure these hearings
will be interesting."

"I'm sure you're right. Thank you for taking some time
to talk with us this evening, Congressman," Olbermann said.

"You're very welcome, Keith."

Olbermann turned toward the camera.

"That brings us to another end of Countdown,
1,973 days since Mission Accomplished. Goodnight and good luck," he said as he
crumpled up a piece of paper before him and threw it toward the screen. A
graphic made the screen look like it shattered, and suddenly it went black.

Cut To:
Int.
Giles and Becca's House – Living Room – Resume

"Hey, we made the number one story on Countdown,"
Xander remarked. "That's something, right?"

"You know," Buffy began as she held the remote in her
hand, "we really need to send both of them something nice – some flowers, maybe
some fruit…a gift basket of some kind."

"True," Becca replied. "Seems like cooler heads are
starting to prevail, and think, even if they aren't in the majority."

"Send them an Elmo," Liz said as she held up her
stuffed animal Elmo.

Buffy grinned. "I'd like to send them a whole big box
full of Elmos."

Liz snorted and rolled her eyes. "That's silly, Aunt
Buffy. You only need one Elmo, not a box full."

Buffy looked over at Giles. "Ever the practical one –
there's no denying this is your child, Giles."

He grinned.

"No baskets, or Elmos, just yet," Jim chimed in. "It
might be construed as payola," he replied. "And bribery really isn't something
we want to add to our list of sins right now."

They all turned toward the foyer as they heard the
door open and close quickly. Skye came to a stop, sounding winded.

"Ethan Rayne is right behind me. He's working for
VOH," she told the gathering.